Tractor



any l, 1923.

, c. E. mmm

TRACTOR Filed May 22 1920 2 Sheets-She???4 l C. E. BIHRD TRACTOR FiledMay 22, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mw f. mw m llllatented llltihfllDlt.

.application filed llltay a2, 192th @aerial life. tld'm.

To all whom t may concern: rll his, of course, is an action desired,because Be it known that ll, @Hannes E. Brian a of the fact that thefront and rearwheels citizen of the llnited States, residingI at travelon a line midway between the outside Minneapolis, in the county ofHennepin and wheels. all four wheels above-noted are, t State ofMinnesota, `have invented certain preferably, positively driven. new anduseful. Improvements in Tractors; l rll`he tractor above described in ageneral and l do hereby declare the following to be way is illustratedin the accompanying a full, clear, and enact description of the drawingswherein like `characters indicate invention, such as will enable othersskilled like parts throughout the several views. 65 lo in the art tojwhich it appertains to make Referring to the drawings:

and use the same. Fig. l is a plan view thereof with some My' inventionhas for its object to provide parts in horizontal section; a simple andhighly efficient tractor capable ,Fig 2 is a side elevation of thetractor of general use for agricultural and similar with some partssectioned on the line 2-2 of 70 i` purposes, and to such ends, generallystated, i and with some parts broken away; the invention consists of thenovel devices lling 2* is a detail in section on the line andcombination of devices hereinafter de- 52952a of Fig l; and

scribed and dened in the claims. Fig. 2b is a detail of the clutch shaftele- This improved tractor involves what is ments. l l l 75 believed tobe a broadly new relative arlin this preferred arrangement ofthe tracrangement of traction wheels and driving tor,ythere is a transverselyelongated recconnections therefor. ln the preferred or tangular mainframe 3 having, at its: sides, complete embodiment of my invention, lbearings 4L through which is extended a provide four traction wheels,two of the floating axle 5. Along driving sleeve 6 is 80 wheels beinglaterally spaced in axial align- `iournaled on the axle 5 and extendsfrom nient, and the other two wheels being lothe one bearingatotheotherbearinga; and cated transversely intermediate of the latthissleeve is journaled in suitable interme erally spaced wheels for travelin the same diate` bearings 7 on the main frame 3.

path, one ahead and one at the rear of the The laterally spaced oroutside `traction 85 i 3o projected axes of the first noted wheels.rllhe wheels S are loosely journaled on the ends of framework isarticulated so that the interthe axle 5 and are provided with internalmediate front and rear wheels can rise and gears 9 that mesh withpinions 10 on the fall in respect to the laterally spaced side outerends of the sections of a divided jack wheels, and the driving force anda part of shaft 1l that is journaled in suitable bearfm the weight ofthe load are carried to the `ings on the main frame 3. The sections `ofsaid front and rear wheels through equalthe jack `shaft ll, at theiradjacent edges, izing` springs. are connected by a differentialgearmecha- 'llhe motor or engine on the tractor drives nism involving agear housing l2, beveled the laterally spaced traction wheels throughgears 13 and beveled pinions la. 'llhe hous- 95 au independentlyoperative clutch mechanism, ing l2 constitutes the master element of theand these independent clutch mechanisms differential gear mechanism, isloosely jouralso drive the sections of a divided jack naled on the endsof the sections of the jack shaft. The sections of the divided jackshaft `ll and is provided with an extended shaft are connected `througha differential hub l5 that carries two sprocket wheels 16y 100 gearmechanism, the master element of which and 1'? for an important purposewhich will is utilized as anA element to trans'n'lit the presentlyappear. rlhebeveledgears 13 are driving movements to the front and rea-rsecured, one to each section of the jackshaft wheels in such mannerthat, when running l1 and the pinions 'lll are journaled to the 00 atthe same speed, but when one of the side gears 13.

traction wheels is idle or stationary andthe 'lllhe numeral i8 indicatesa front supple other side traction wheel is driven, as in mental frame,and the numeral 19 indicates making an abrupt turn on the first noted arear supplemental frame, both of which side wheel of the pivot, the twofront and are pivotally connected to" the `main frame, 555 rearwheelsywill `be driven at one-half the so that an articulated frameworkis prospeed` of the outside, or active side wheel. duced. Jllhesupplemental framework 18 has straight ahead, all fourwheels may bedriven housing l2 and mesh with the two beveled 105 a plurality ofrearwardly extended arms 20 provided `.with-removable half-bearings 21(See Figs 1 and 23) that are pivoted on hubs of the main frame, so thatsaid supplemental frame 18 may. be readily vdetached from the mainframe.

The rear supplemental frame 19 has a plurality of forwardly extendedarms 22 which, by nut-equipped bolts 23, are'pivotally and detachablyconnected to the main frame so that-said'supplemental frame 19 mayalsobe readily detachable from 'the main frame. i f

The supplementalframes 18 and 19 are provided with large rectangularopenings, in the former of which, the front traction wheel 24 and in thelatter of which the rear traction wheel 25 is located. These tractionwheels 24 and 25. are journaled, respectively, on short axles 26 and 27secured to the supplemental frames V18 and 19. On the hub of the fronttraction wheel 24 is a sprocket wheel 28, and on the hub of the reartraction wheel 25 is a similar sprocket wheel 29. A sprocket chain 30runs over the sprocket 28 and..over the aligned sprocket 16, and thesprocket chain 31 runs overthe sprocket 29 and yover the alignedsprocket 17.- Here 1t will be remembered that the sprockets 16 and 17arefcarried bythe so-called master driving element of the differentiallgear mechanism.

The numeral 32 indicates a motor, preferably, a multi-cylinder internalcombustion engine rigidlymounted on the supporting bracket 33 that isrigidly secured to the main frame 3. The crank shaft of this enginecarries a spur pinion 34 shown by dotted lines in Fig.l 2, but whichruns in mesh with a spur gear 35rigidly secured on the driving sleeve6". driving sleeve constitutes a tubular driving axle. i

On the opposite end portions of the driving sleeve or axle 6 are clutchcones 36 that are keyedl to slide on but rotate with said sleeve. Theseclutch cones 36 co-operate with internal clutch cones 37 that areloosely journaled on the driving sleeve 6 and are rigidly securedvtorotate with spur pinions 38 that mesh with spur gears 39, the latterbeing rigidly secured, one to each section of the divided jack shaft 11.The numeral 40 indicates'brake bands that work independently on theexterior cylindrical surfaces of the clutch members 37 and may beoperated in any well known manner.

The hubs ofthe two slidable clutch cones 36 are grooved andthese groovesare provided with loose shipper rings 41 that have diametricallyprojecting pins 42 (see Figs. 1 and 2").`

The. numeral 43 indicates a transversely `movable clutch shiftingrodjhaving forwardly projecting prongs terminating in Here it may benoted that the bifurcated heads 44 that engage the pins 42 of thecollars 41.

The numeral 45 indicates a steering post mounted in suitable bearings onthe main frame 3 and provided at its upper end with a steering lever 46.Near its lower end, the steering post 45 has a short arm 47 that ispivotally connected to the intermediate portion of the rod 43.

The numeral 48 indicates laterally spaced equalizing springs of thesemi-elipticaltype,

the same, at their central portions, being rigidly anchored to the sidesof the main frame 3 by clamps 49. The front ends of these springs 48 areconnected by links 5() to lugs 51 on the iront supplemental frame 18,and the rear ends of said springs are connected by links 52 to lugs 53on the rear supplemental trame 19.

The numeral 54 indicates a. shield which covers the rear wheel 25, thesame being shown in Fig. 2, but removed from Fig. 1. The numeral 55indicates the drivers seat shown as supported from the bracket 33. Theclutch cones 36 are normally pressed into contact with the co-operatingclutch member 37 by coiled springs 56 that react against collars 57 onthe driving sleeve 6.

The operation of this tractor in a general way has been discussed in theintroduction to the description. The following statements are pertinent.Y

Then the steering lever 46 is in` its central or intermediate position,both clutches will be in action, both sections of the jack shaft 11 willbe driven at the same speed and all four of the traction wheels will bedriven at the same speed so that the tractor will then travel straightahead.

When it is desired to cause the machine to turn toward the right or tothe left, one or the other of the clutches will be thrown out of actionso as to stop the driving action of the outside traction wheel that ison that side toward which the turn is to be made. For instance, if it isdesired to turn toward the left, the steering lever 46 will be movedtoward the right, thereby throwing the left hand clutch out of action,while leaving the right hand clutch in action. This stops the drivingmovement of the left hand outside traction wheel 8 which will then actas a pivot on which the tractor will approximately turn; and the righthand outside traction wheel 8 will then be driven at full. speed and themain or master driving elcment l2 of the differential clutch mechanismwill be then driven at half speed so that the front and rear tractionwheels will then also be driven at half speed, which is the properdriving speed thereof in making such a turn. In actual practice I havefound that the tractor can be turned, as Just described, and can besteered in any and all directions with the greatest yfacility and ease.From the ties.

attratta above it will be seen that the ditferential gear mechanism inthis tractor is usedn in .a very `diderent manner `from. that in whichit is ordinarily used, in that in this arrangement, the two sections ofthe jack shaft are independently clutch driven, and the master member ofthe differential mechanism, instead of transmitting motion positively tothe laterally spaced traction wheels, is used to transmit the properproportionate speed, up to full speed, to the front and rear intermediate traction wheels.

lin practice, l have found that this tractor may berun over the roughestkind of road or ground surfaces, through ditches and over embankments,and the like, and that it has all ofthe advantages of a tractor of thetrac tion belt type but free from the undesirable features of thelatter.

When the tractor is driven forward, and especiallywhen pulling a heavyload, such as a gang plow, or the like, the driving force will tend toraise the front Wheel 2d. rfhis lifting force` is transmitted throughthe springs i8 to the rear traction wheel 25, but all of the fourtraction wheels will be lrept upon the ground,.regardless of irregulari-'lhe springs d8, of course, also compensate for irregularities in theground and resulting vertical movements of the traction wheels, the onein respect to the other. lt/loreover, the said springs keep the main`frame 3 properly positioned. inasmuch as greater ground-engagingpressure is produced on the rear traction wheel than on the fronttraction wheel 24, the latter may be made smaller than the former, butthe drivxing connections must be such that both of the saidtractionwheels will be driven at the same peripheral speed.

llor` light work it may be sometimes de sirable to remove the fronttraction Wheel .24, its supplemental frame 18 and its driving connectionfrom the tractor', and this, as is obvious, may be quickly accomplished,and `when desired, the said parts may be again coupled `to the tractor.lEven when w this front traction wheel is removed, the

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.motor on said tractor having connections for driving all of saidtraction wheels, said driving connections including a divided jackshaft, a differential gear mechanism connecting the sections of said`divided jack shaft, a motor driven clutches and co-operatingconnections for simultaneously or independently driving the sections ofsaid jack shaft, the sections of said jack shaft having independentdriving connections to said laterally spaced side tracw tion wheels, anda driving connection for said intermediate traction wheels driven fromthe master driving element of said differential clutch mechanism.

3. lli tractor having laterally spaced side traction wheels and frontand rear intermediate traction Wheels, in combination with a motor onsaid tractor having connections for driving all of said four tractionwheels, said tractor having a vertically movable supplemental framepermitting independent vertical movements of said. front and reartraction Wheels in respect to said side traction wheels.

t. A tractor having laterally spaced side traction wheels and front andrear intermediate traction wheels, in combination with a motor on saidtractor having connections for driving all of said four traction wheels,said tractor having a main frame with a detachable supplemental. sectionwhich, when removed, disconnects one of said interme- `dia-te tractionwheels from the tractor.

5. fr tractor having laterally spaced side traction wheels and front andrear intermediate traction wheels, in combination with a motor on saidtractor having connections for driving all of said four traction wheels,said driving connections including a divided jaclr shaft, the sectionsof which are independently geared to said side traction wheels, motordriven clutches and co-operatinggears operative to simultaneously or independently drive the sections of said j ack shaft, a differential gearmechanism connecting the sections of said jack shaft, and pow-ertransmitting connections operative to Vdrive said front and reartraction Wheels from the master element of said differential clutchmechanism.

6. A tractor having laterally spaced side traction wheels and front andrear intermediate traction wheels, in combination with a motor on saidtractor having connections for driving all of said four traction wheels,said driving connections including a divided jack shaft, the sections ofwhich are independently geared to said side traction Wheels, motordriven clutches and co-operating gears operative to simultaneously orindependently drive the sections of said jack shaft, a differential gearmechanism connecting the sections of said jack shaft, and powertransmitting connections operative to drive said llt) ico

front and rear tractionvvheels from the master element of saiddifferential clutch mechanism, said tractor having a main frame with asupplemental section pivoted for vertical movements to thereby permitindependent vertical movements or' said front and rear traction Wheelsin respect to said side tract-ion Wheels.

7. A tractor having laterally spaced side traction Wheels and front andrear intermediate traction wheels, in combination with a motor on saidtractor having connections for .driving all of said four tractionWheels, said driving connections including a divided jack shaft, thesections of which are independently geared to said side traction wheels,motor driven clutches and co-operating gears operative to simultaneouslyor independently drive the sections of said jack shaft, a differentialgear mechanism connecting the sections of said jack shaft, and

power transmitting connections operative to drive said front and reartraction Wheels from the master element of said diierential clutchmechanism, and a steering device With connections adapted to throweither of said clutches out ofaction, at will, or to permit both of saidclutches to simultaneously eo-act to drive thetractor.

8. A tractor having laterally spaced side traction Wheels and `front andrear intermediate traction Wheels, in combination with a motor on saidtractor having connections for driving all of said four traction Wheels,said driving connections including a dividedj ack shaft, the sections ofwhich are 4front and rear traction Wheels in respect to said sidetraction Wheels, and asteering device y with connections adapted tothrow either of said clutches out of action, at will, or to permit bothof said clutches to simultaneously co-act to drive the tractor.

9.` A; tractor having laterally spaced side traction Wheels and frontand rear intermediate traetion Wheels, in combination with a motor onsaid tractor having connections for driving all of said four tractionwheels, said tractor having a main frame and front and rear supplemental`trames pivoted thereto for vertical movements, to thereby permit saidfront and rear traction Wheels to move vertically in respect to saidside traction Wheels.

10.y A tractor having laterally spaced side traction Wheels and frontand rear intermediate traction wheels, in combination with a motor onsaid tractor having connections for driving all 0f said four tractionWheels. said tractor having a main frame and front and rear supplementalframes pivoted thereto for vertical movements, to thereby permit saidJiront and rear traction wheels to move vertically in respect to saidside traction Wheels, and lever acting springs intermediately secured tosaid main frame and connected at their front and rear ends,respectively, to said front and rear supplemental frame sections.

11. A tractor having laterally spaced side traction wheels and front andrear intermediate traction wheels, in combination with a motor on saidtractor having connections for driving all of said four traction wheels,said front and rear traction wheels being capable ot' vertical movementsin respect to said side traction Wheels, and an equalizing springyieldingly pressing said front and rear traction Wheels downward.

12. A tractor having laterally spaced side traction Wheels and iront andrear intermediate tract-ion Wheels, in combination with a motor on saidtractor having connections vFor driving all of said four tractionwheels, the said tractor having a main frame and vertically movablefront and rear supplemental frames to which said front and rear wheels,respectively, are journaled` and a lever-aeting spring anchored to saidmain frame and connected to said front and rear supplemental frames andyieldingly pressing both thereof downward.

13. A tractor having laterally spaced side traction Wheels andlongitudinally offset* front and rear intermediate traction wheels, amotor on said tractorliaving connections for driving all oi saidtraction Wheels, and means for discontinuing the driving of either ofsaid side Wheels at will and driving said intermediate Wheels at reducedspeed.

14. A tractor having a frame, a single pair of spaced traction Wheels atthe sides thereof alined on an axis extending transversely of the frame,and a traction wheel located centrally of the frame at both the frontand rear ends thereof on axes parallel to said axis. and means on saidframe for driving all of said Wheels.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES E. BIRD.

